Preydator: Phelexar's Odyssey
by Gunzgalore
Summary: This is a completely original work that I wrote based off the Odyssey. If anyone has questions about it while they're reading it, please PM me.
1. Chapter 1

**This is an original short story that I have written for my Mythology class. Although it is a completely original work, it is still based heavily off the Odyssey. **

**If anyone has any questions about the story please PM me.**

**Chapter 1**

Japan, also known as my own slice of hell. There's a reason why I came home early from my trip. It all started when my mother and father split up. I was about ten years old, so it has been quite a while. My mother always wanted me to be a psychiatrist, since I know people so well. My dad, on the other hand, wanted me to pursue what made me happy. That's what he always said.

I know that wasn't what he really wanted. He was really big on martial arts, and has been doing it ever since he was about five. His father was a Jiu-jitsu master in Japan and trained him for most of his life. Dad then took up the liberty to pass on what he knew to me. I started when I was five too.

I guess that's probably one of the reasons why the parents split up in the first place. You see, mom was a bit of a pacifist, and hated violence. Dad on the other hand thought martial arts are essential to a child's survival. That's why he trained me, so that if anything ever happened I would be ready, and I was.

Once they split up dad spent some time in LA for a while, until grandpa died about three years ago. Ever since then he lived in Japan. Occasionally I would go and visit him for a month or two, but mostly during summer break.

To be honest, I liked it better at Dad's house. Mom always seemed too uptight. She always tried to manipulate me to be what she wanted me to be. If she wasn't at home she was out with her friends, occasionally coming home drunk.

I enjoyed the time I had with dad, because he understood me, or at least he tried. This past summer, I was flying over to Japan as usual. I was so excited to finally get a break from Mom and her constant nagging about how I'll never be a therapist if I spend all my time fighting with my friends.

So I got off the plane, thank god, because I had been stuck between a sleepy old lady who kept resting her head on my shoulder, which I hate. On my other side was an extremely chatty blonde girl who, while hot, talked way too much.

Once I got off the plane I stretched my legs to my chest then popped my back, which felt amazing as usual. The sun was high in the sky and not a cloud in sight. I looked to the big Tokyo airport and imagined soldiers rushing out of it, because it was rather old and looked like an air force base, which it probably was.

I was finally rid of both of those annoying tourists and I was free to go to a group of people I could get along with. Heck, I was a lot less of a tourist than the rest of the people passing me. Even though I was more white than Asian, I fit in perfectly in Japan.

I walked into the airport, instantly surprised by its beautiful inner architecture and cool air conditioning. So it was only ancient on the outside after all. Everything was new. From the benches, to the drinking fountains, to the little conveyer belts moving the luggage along for everybody.

I was fine with being on my own as always. I haven't needed an adult to come with me since I was thirteen. Since then I've been perfectly contempt with going on my own and finding the person who was picking me up.

Speaking of which, I found my ride rather quickly. By the time I stepped into the airport I could already see someone walking my way carrying my bag. It was my dad himself. He was full Japanese, unlike me being only half.

It took me a while to notice him, until finally he had gotten through the crowd and was right behind me as I tried to make my way through. He tapped me on the shoulder startling me a bit. I didn't recognize him at first, but I was kind of expecting it to be him. I mean, who else would it have been?

"Dad!"

"Lex!" Dad smiled at me and set my bag down throwing me into a hug. "Oh it's so good to see you."

I was never really good with reunions and simply spat out a quiet, "Yeah."

Dad separated from me and I picked up my bag. "Come on let's get out of this crowded airport."

He held his arm behind my back and escorted me through the crowd. This was different than America, because in Japan. When you said excuse me, the people smile at you and actually get out of your way. Most of the people are friendly like that.

"Sumimasem." Dad spoke in Japanese as we passed through the final group and were finally free to get to the car. "Whew. Finally. I think more and more people come each year."

I thought about it for a second and realized he was right, and chuckled. "Yeah. Maybe Japan has a magnet under its surface pulling people here."

We walked out to the parking lot until we finally got to Dad's red Toyota. He walked around to the other side and helped myself inside before he could get in. I threw my bag in the back seat and waited for him to get in.

"So." He broke the ice upon starting the car. "How goes your therapist training?"

"Well I quit that class, so I guess you can say it's going great." I chuckled.

He turned around backing up the car, "Yeah. I bet your mom had a cow about that."

I smiled as he turned the car around and began driving. "It wouldn't make sense if she didn't."

Dad turned down the radio so we could hear each other better. "And how goes your art?"

I thought back to the last painting I did in art class, "I'm getting good. Last painting I did was one of Mrs. Yolker's fake plants. I painted it sort of like a camera would in negative mode."

"That's cool." Dad nodded smiling. "Got any pictures?"

I pulled out my cell phone and waited for him to get to the stop light, once we stopped I showed him my white plant painting. Then I scrolled on to my other pictures.

This was my true dream. I wanted to be an artist, not a therapist. I have always been smart enough to read people easily and how they will think, but what I actually like to do is draw. That was my true hobby. Unlike Mom, Dad encouraged it. The way a parent should.

"Geez." Dad nudged my shoulder. "You're good. Maybe you should do one of the dojo or something. Maybe draw with cool ninjas or something in it."

I eyeballed Dad and he grinned at me knowing that was what I would think of. He was cool like that. He knew me and actually took time to know me.

The rest of the car ride was spent without much talking. Dad turned on the radio and we listened to our mutual favorite, Three Days Grace, for the rest of the ride. I bobbed my head along singing along to the words in the songs.

Not a single worry crossed my mind for that ride. Little did I know it was the last time I would ever get to relax. Dad was in trouble with the wrong people. Lots of trouble.

Dad lived at the family dojo, which was normal for a martial artist in Japan. They loved their martial arts. They respected it. For masters like my dad, martial arts were a way of life, not just a hobby.

We pulled up to the apartment like building which was attached to other houses all the way down the street. The place was different thought. Not only was it wider than the rest of the apartments, but it had a sign above it for the dojo with our family name, Nagashima.

My mom never liked that I still had Dad's last name, but I wouldn't let her change it. What was the point? I wasn't going to go through all of that trouble just because she still held her hatred for dad. If you ask me it was uncalled for. They had been separated for seven years now, but she still hated him with a passion.

My dad used to tell me that he and mom split my name up. Since they couldn't agree on one, dad agreed to let mom pick his first name since he was the more mature one. Mom ended up making my name up from the top of her head, which I never quite minded. It's kind of cool having a unique name.

Dad smiled at me once we came to a stop, letting the car idle for a while before pulling the key out. "Welcome home." He grinned stepping out of the car.

I reached back and grabbed my bag, before following him to the door. Suddenly he stopped himself from opening the door. He sort of cocked his head and listened in one something he could hear.

I raised an eyebrow and listened as well. "What?" Once I listened harder I actually did hear something. A man seemed to be screaming inside. Although I couldn't make out exactly what he was saying.

"What is that?" I asked, but he shushed me and opened the door.

Once we got inside all I could see was three men surrounding a woman in the middle of the dojo floor. Each of them were rather bulky, and didn't seem frightened with being in the middle of a dojo full of students and masters. In fact, the woman they were screaming at was the one who was scared.

"What the hell?" I mumbled. "Who are those guys?"

Dad shushed me again then leaned in to whisper. "Go into the kitchen and wait for me. I'll handle this."

I glowered at Dad but he persisted and shoved me in the direction of the kitchen. I stumbled to catch my footing and kept walking while keeping my eye on the thuggish men. The biggest one, a bald man with a scar on his right eye glared at me. He took a step forward, but he was stopped by Dad who tried to calm them down.

I stepped through the door to the kitchen, but left the door cracked open. I wasn't about to be left wondering what was going on. I wasn't going to be left out of the loop.

I peeked one eye through the sliding door and listened hard to the conversation.

The men surrounded Dad, obviously here for him. "It's about time you got here. Where have you been? And where's our money?"

Dad waved his hands peacefully trying to keep them calm. "I was just going to pick my son up from the airport."

"And our money?" The bald one persisted through his teeth. "You better have it this time."

"I'm afraid I don't." Dad replied. "Because of you guys hanging around here so much, you've scared away any possible students."

The shortest one and obviously the youngest stepped in closer to Dad, threateningly. "Are you saying this is our fault? It's your own dumbass fault for not making the money."

Who did these guys think they were? They were strong, yeah, but they clearly weren't fighters. More like hired muscle. And they were demanding money and threatening my dad?

More importantly, why was Dad taking crap from them? He should be kicking them out right about now.

The more I watched the conversation the more I was able to put the pieces together. Dad owed these guys money. And they were less than desirable members of society. Probably gangsters, but still. Dad is much stronger than these guys. So they should be trying to calm him down, not the other way around.

The next thing I did was the reason for this whole mess. The reason for me being hunted down. The reason I had to kill my way home.

I slid the door open glaring at these guys. They didn't pay any attention to me, but I was determined to gain their attention. They were not welcome here as far as I was concerned. No matter who they were.

"Hey!" I called, but they ignored me further. "Get out of our shop."

The bald one cocked his head and glared at me. He was not much taller than I was, but he sure was bulkier. "What?" I didn't answer with words, only my fierce glare. "What did you say you little punk?"

As he stomped forward to try and intimidate me, I didn't back away in fear like he thought I would. Instead I stomped forward too and got in his face. "I said get out."

The little one pushed dad to the side. Dad tried to stop them, but the little one turned his back to me and the next thing I knew Dad was backing off. He turned back around now smiling through his teeth. "You got a big mouth kid. Who do you think you are?"

I was full of comebacks. "I could ask you the same question. Who are you to walk into a martial arts dojo and threaten the master? Huh?"

The short one burst out laughing and the bald one gave a light chuckle as well. I glared on at him, not even more agitated that they were underestimating me.

"We're with the Yakuza, kid." Baldy replied. "Maybe you've heard of me."

"I don't care if you're the god of thunder." I replied with venom in my words. "You better get out before I throw you out. And don't ever threaten my dad again."

"Let's get-"

"No!" Baldy silenced his little friend. "It's his first day here. Let's let him enjoy it."

He turned to his two comrades and nodded at them. Then the next thing I knew they had left. Dad rubbed his eyes stressfully and shook his head.

All I could do was glare at him. It's all I could think to do. After all he had just bowed to two thugs like they were his own master. As if they were grandpa. "You shouldn't have done that."

"You shouldn't be associating with them." Now I was the parent. "What the hell are you doing with the Yakuza?"

Dad glowered down at me. No anger was in his expression. Only sadness and regret. "I fell behind on the payments for this place. So I went to them for hand out."

I sighed and shook my head. Dad placed his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Lex. I'll take care of this tomorrow."

All I did was jerk my arm away from him and turn away. I was so angry at him, for putting himself in danger like that. "Mom was right. You are too reckless to be a father."

I didn't see how Dad reacted to my comment. In fact, those words were the last words I spoke to him. I spent the rest of the day watching TV in my room. I didn't want to speak to him at all, but little did I know that was the last time we spoke.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

That night after dad's assistant, Ayame, slipped a bowl of Ramen into my bedroom for dinner, I fell asleep quickly. I assured myself that I would apologize to him the next morning for the horrible comment. I couldn't imagine how furious he was with me. I had never shouted at him like that before. That was how I always argued with Mom.

When I shouted at those Yakuza guys I never thought about the consequences, I was only worried about getting them out of my home. I don't know what time it was, but late that night, the consequences came into my house.

I awoke to a loud boom down the hallway. I was the type of boom that made my ears ring horribly. It nearly made me deaf, it seemed like. I woke up with a jolt and covered my ears, cringing with pain. My bedroom was illuminated by the hallway light and all I could see was a slender, shrouded figure standing over my bed. His head was turned around looking into the hallway. Suddenly I could see an object in his right hand, a pistol pointed at the ceiling.

These guys were burglars! They were with the guys from earlier! The Yakuza had come to kill me, and more importantly. They came for Dad, who was the one in debt.

My body suddenly took control of itself, and my mind simply idled by watching the scene. I jumped from my bed and the man turned his head around to look at me. Before he could react, I already had ahold of his right arm. I swiftly kicked him in the groin and bent his arm over my shoulder. He struggled to break free, but he didn't have enough time as I quickly threw him over my shoulder, flat onto his back.

I kept ahold on his arm and got a quick glimpse of his face before he started fighting back. It was the littler thug from earlier, the same one who was laughing at me.

As soon as he hit the ground his free hand slapped the floor hard, which I knew took away the power from my throw. Then his foot came straight up, hitting me straight in the forehead. This caused me to let go of his arm, and stumble backwards from the pain.

He hopped to his feet and tackled me into the wall. This nearly knocked the breath out of me, but I couldn't react to it just yet. The man grunted and tried to twist his pistol to my face. In a flurry of desperate adrenaline I pushed back. In a battle of strength, the two of us pushed against each other's strength in the other direction. He wasn't as strong as I was. I was right when I assumed he was new.

His arm suddenly began to pull towards him and I saw a bead of nervous sweat roll down his cheek. A fearful look spread across his face as I pushed the gun more towards him.

The next thing I knew I heard Ayame screaming from downstairs then another thunderous gun shot. This was what pushed me to the edge. With angrier adrenaline than ever I pushed with all of my might until the barrel of his pistol was hugging the bottom of his chin.

I bared my teeth and shouted with a barbaric battle cry as I reached my thumb towards his trigger finger then in an instant the gun went off with a boom louder than the jets of the plane that brought me here. It all went so fast, the next thing I knew the young thug stopped fighting me. He went limp across my bedroom floor. Chunks of pink brain tissue swam in crimson liquid that flowed out of his skull.

I looked at the pistol in my hands which was now a chrome like red. I looked at my hands which were also stained with his blood. I followed the blood which trailed its way up my arms. The splatters across my neck looked like red leopard spots.

What have I done? I had just killed someone, and I didn't even know his name. The blood I was covered in didn't help matters at all. I dropped the pistol, shaking and buried my hands in my face. I could feel the blood that had splattered across my face and wiped it away. I was on the verge of vomiting all over my floor.

Another boom sounded from downstairs. They were still killing people. I looked to my left and saw the free pistol just sitting there. Should I take it? I wasn't a killer, but these people were trespassing. They were killing people and my dad was possibly next. Or had they already gotten to him?

I argued with myself for a few seconds more, before I came to a decision. I had to save dad, no matter the cost. These people were in my home, so they deserved to die. Each and every one of them.

My fingers wrapped around the pistol grip once more and I wiped the blood from my face with my shirt. I could hear the thugs screaming from downstairs at people. Their deep voices nearly made me sicker than the blood and gore across my floor. Their angry, thuggish voices. Who did they think they were?

I stood up gripping the weapon so tight I'm surprised it didn't break in my hands. It was them who needed to be scared. I wasn't going to let them go free from this. They were dead where they stood.

The next few moments were like slow motion. I marched my way down the hall, head hot with rage. My vision seemed to be thumping along with my terrified heart. The halls were beating along with my heart rate as I rounded the corner and took my first steps downstairs.

I got to the bottom and looked at the door. The last door before I was in the dojo area. That was where they were. Their screaming was louder than ever as they slurred threats of what they would do to their victims. They had already killed three people, don't let my Dad be one of them.

I swallowed my fear and buried it with hatred and slipped my fingers around the sliding door. Once again I peeked into the dojo to see what was happening. The live in disciples were lined up and on their knees. The boys cowered in fear as two huge men stood over them, each armed with pistols. As for the females, they tried their best to stay silent and not attract the attention of the thugs.

The big bald gangster from earlier was there as well as his other friend. They both held a girl by the neck in both hands, wide grins across their faces. The girls sobbed and whimpered with fear that seemed to petrify them in their place.

"Ooh. What about this one?" The shorter of the two laughed. "She's got some big ole boobies on her."

Baldy laughed. "Oh yeah. She'll bring a nice price for us."

Again I found myself wondering who they thought they were. Just because they had guns in their hands they thought they were big and bad. Well I had one too now. And they were going to die for what they did.

I threw the door opened and aimed right at the men. Before they could react, hell. Before I could even react, I had already fired at the men. The first one hit baldy in the leg, while the other one went straight through his partner's head.

Baldy hit the floor hard as did his pistol, as the girls scurried away screaming and crying their eyes out. My heart slowed down as I walked over to the bald bastard with a hateful sneer. I made sure I was sneering too. I wanted him to know he was being punished.

Now I was standing over him. He was helpless, and I had a choice. Should I spare him because he couldn't fight back?

No way. He had broken into my home, and deserved no less. At least that's all I could think of at that moment.

"I warned you." I growled at him aiming his friend's pistol at his head.

His eyes and lip quivered in fear as he looked down the barrel.

"I told you never to come back again." I added through my teeth. Then my eyes drifted, following a trail of blood to the corner of the room where Ayame's body lie scarlet and dead. "And you've killed," my teeth tightened and spit was coming out of my mouth as I spoke. "My friends! My family!"

Baldy quivered more, then suddenly a grin spread across his face. "Hehehe. You think you're powerful now. Just wait. Kill me or don't kill me. It doesn't matter. Enjoy your final day's because no matter what. My family will find you. They will find you… They will find you!"

Suddenly my finger pulled on the trigger jerking my wrist back with power. His head thumped on the tatami floor tiles and the scarlet life force splattered all over the floor. Like this friends brain chunks floated around in it, making me sick to my stomach.

"Phelexar-senpai!" One of the girls cried out to me clinging to my leg. The others joined in praising their savior.

"Phelexar-senpai saved us!" They all struggled to hug me, but I pushed them all away.

"Where's my father?" I asked them instantly getting gasps from all of them.

None of them could utter a sentence, they were so scared. All except one, who shook his head and pointed to the kitchen door. Not a good sign. Why didn't he speak? Why did he have to shake his head? Why couldn't he have told me Dad was helping the others somewhere else, or speaking with the police?

I could feel hot tears form in the corner of my eyes and my face went hot. My heart thumped heavily against my chest as I threw the gun down and ran to the kitchen door.

"We called the police, Senpai!" One of the girls shouted.

I didn't hear them. All I could think was how my Dad was. There was no way he could have been dead. After all, this was Dad. He was the strongest guy I knew. No, the strongest man on the planet. He wasn't dead.

At least that's what I told myself until I literally ran through the door, breaking it into pieces. I looked left, then right, then left again. I saw nothing at all, but then my eyes fell to a thick puddle glistening from behind the island.

My only thoughts involved, "No" and "It can't be." These two phrases repeated in my head like I had dementia or something. I slowly stepped further and further toward the island, hoping it was just another thug that was killed by someone. I knew it wasn't though.

Even though I knew what had probably happened, it didn't stop me from dropping to my knees as soon as I saw him. Dad's muscular body lay across the kitchen floor with a single bullet wound right through his heart. His mouth hung open as well as his eyes which was only terrifying.

I couldn't help but cry. Don't judge me. I mean, come on. What would you have done?

Steaming hot tears rolled down my cheeks as I tried to stop the blood from coming out, but it was a hopeless attempt. I kept yelling for him to stop playing around and wake up, but it was all just a stupid attempt to fool myself.

After a while of trying to stop the blood I had already taken off my own shirt and covered the wound with it, which at least stopped it from flowing, but it did serve to turn it from white to crimson, red.

I had given up, and buried my face in his chest sobbing and crying. The other students all watched from the door, hearing my cries of agony and pain. This made them all sob silently too.

A long time passed before I stopped crying and allowed myself to take in the situation. I picked my head up off of his chest and closed his eyes and mouth to make it look more peaceful at least. I nodded at him then scooted back against the cabinets hugging my knees.

I kept expecting my dad to wake up and simply brush off the wound like he was Superman. Again, it was hopeless. He was dead, right before my eyes.

As I sat there just staring at his body, I saw some of the other students start approaching me. I ignored them, but they didn't care. Boys and girls alike hugged me tightly to try and comfort me, but instead of burying my face in their shoulders to cry some more I kept staring at him.

I was past the crying already. Now I was thinking. I was thinking about the ones who did this. The Yakuza men from earlier had walked into my home and started ordering my dad around. Then after I told them they weren't welcome, they came here and killed my father instead. Would have killed me too if they were quicker.

My opinion of the men I killed was still stuck like glue. They deserved to die, and I enjoyed it now. In fact, I wished I had killed them in a more painful way. A more sadistic way to make them feel their deaths.

Eventually the police had gotten there and started shuffling kids out of the place and searching for survivors. When they stepped into the kitchen they covered their noses from the smell, but I couldn't smell it by now.

They circled the island and saw me along with the other kids huddled together staring at my dad. I couldn't hear them, but they suddenly started escorting the students out of the kitchen.

The youngest one shook my shoulder to get me to move, "Senpai. Senpai."

One of the officers told her to go into the other room then he knelt down next to me. Then he took off his coat and put it around my shoulders, helping me to my feet.

"Come on, son." He whispered. "It's alright."

This reminded me of the first time I had lost a sparring match. He helped me off the ground and said the exact same thing.

My mind went blank and I said nothing else for a long time. I just watched everything that was going on. Perhaps I was in shock.

The cop escorted me to his car and after a while of getting everything wrapped up I was on the way to the police station. It was a long drive and occasionally the officer would look over me with a saddened look, but I wouldn't look back or even acknowledge him.

Finally we got to the station and the officer walked me through telling the other officers what had just happened.

They all reacted the same way. "Are you alright?"

I didn't reply though. He told them I was going through shock which was probably the case. The cop escorted me along until finally I was sitting in the questioning room with him.

He stepped outside and before long he came back in with some paperwork. I had seen cops in action before and this guy had exceeded my expectations of abusive cops that hated everyone. Maybe it was just because I wasn't much a suspect as I was a victim. Maybe he thought I was responsible. I was covered in dried up blood after all.

"Don't morn the dead." He finally said with a kind smile. I glanced up at him, my heart lifting slightly from his kind hearted tone. "Instead be glad that they escaped this horrible world."

I nodded with another heavy hearted sigh and muttered. "Yeah."

The cop kept on talking. "Can I get you anything? Water? Food?"

I shook my head holding back further tears from going across my now hateful sneer. I felt like flipping the table and breaking the cop's arm right now. I felt like pounding my chest like I was freaking King Kong and roaring like an idiot.

"I understand your pain." He replied. "My parents were taken from me as well. But you want to know how to make it better?" I looked up but didn't answer him. Then suddenly he leaned in with a smile. "Make them proud." He whispered. "Make them proud by being strong and continuing with your life."

It was a nice sentiment, but all I could think of was rampaging through town and hurting anyone else I could get my hands on.

"Your friends call you a hero." He replied. "You saved their life."

"I murdered each and every one of those men in cold blood." I replied huffing in my breath as I spoke. "And you know the worst part? I enjoyed it. I even wish I made it more gruesome and painful."

I expected him to scold me, but he just nodded. "I understand your pain. Your… anger. This is normal."

"The first step it denial." I replied. "I know, but I just skipped to anger."

The cop nodded and smiled at me again. "Your father would be proud either way. You're a hero." I sighed and looked away, not dropping my sneer. The cop then slid his bundle of papers to the side and leaned over the table. "Normally we would investigate you, but the kids already gave us a good enough evidence. So you're free to walk."

I glanced up again. "That's unlike a cop to just leave people alone like that."

"This is Japan. Not America." He replied. "We actually use our brains unlike those brutes in your country."

He had a point. A very funny point, and I knew it for a long time. People in Japan were a lot different than those in America. I now knew that the criminals were too. The people were nicer and the criminals were more brutal and dangerous. My dad didn't pay them back so they went straight to killing him.

I folded my arms and buried my head in them giving out a heavy sigh. I was depressed, there was no denying. I was scared too. Terrified that those men had come to kill me and I escaped. That bald guy gave me a warning. His family would find me. I killed all three of them and now they wanted revenge.

"I need to go home." I lifted my face out of my arms, my voice still unsteady with sorrow. "Those guys are gonna come after me. The rest of their family."

The cop stroked his chin nodding with a rather wise look on his face. "Yes. There is no denying that. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." He slapped the papers back down on the table. "Phelexar Nagashima. Japanese-American. Seventeen years old. Six feet four inches tall. Black hair, brown eyes. Born in Los Angeles, California. Mother, Jennifer Triley. Father… Bin Nagashima." He rubbed his eyes stressfully. "Is this all correct?"

I sneered at the mention of my Father's name. I didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to see his corpse one more time. Now I only wanted to act as if my father never existed.

"Okay." He slid the paperwork to the side. "Is there anyone who can take care of you?"

I nodded. "Yes…" But didn't tell him.

He awaited my answer for a few seconds until he caught on that I wasn't talking. "Your mother?"

I sighed and stayed still for a few more seconds before I gave him a half hearted nod. There was so much awkward silence I could almost hear the cop's eyebrows furrowing. He was uncomfortable for sure. I didn't blame him, even if he went through the same thing. When a loved one dies the person will most likely go through a stage of shock and depression, especially if the person was murdered.

"Alright look." He broke the silence boldly and also uncomfortably. "I am very sorry that this has all happened to you. But we have to get this all sorted out. Do you want to get on the plane now? Tomorrow?"

Again I didn't answer for a while before I looked up with a glare. "Tomorrow. Just let me sleep for now will you?"

Despite my rudeness he nodded without anger like most police would. "Okay. You should shower first, get all that blood off you."

I looked at my hands which were died with a brick red substance which had dried already. I felt my face, still covered with dried on blood. I was covered in the stuff, both from the man I had killed, and my own father.

Without saying anything else I got up out of the seat and proceeded out of the room and to the left.

"Down the hall and to the right." The officer shouted. "Any shower you want. They should all be empty."

I took my shower very long. I took time not only to get the blood off me thoroughly, but also to take in the calming warm water. Never before had a simple shower felt so incredibly soothing, and I loved it.

After a while I dried myself off and stepped out of the shower. The officer had been kind enough to set out a fresh set of clothes, with a pair of jeans and a dark blue t-shirt from the Tokyo police department.

I dressed into them and made my way back to the interrogation room unsure of where I was supposed to go. The officer was still in there waiting for me and lit up once he saw me.

"You may sleep in one of our holding cells if you want. Or you can sleep in here." He offered.

He offered me a blanked which I accepted quickly and sat down on the floor instead of the chair. Everything was still going through my head. Dad was dead. The Yakuza would hunt me. Now I was left with the dojo, surely it would be left to me. This was my first day in Japan and I would already be going home.

For the first time ever I truly missed mom. I don't want to say I hated the woman, I mean she was my mom. However, she always succeeded in getting under my skin for being a bit of a control freak. No more. When I got home I would speak my mind. I would tell her that I was almost eighteen and I would pursue whatever made me happy. I would tell her that I would not have her telling me what I would do with my life.

Surely she would accept it if I was bold and expressed myself. I wouldn't let her control me anymore. I've killed a man after all.

I went straight to sleep thinking about everything. All the horrible things that had happened. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. Stuff like, this isn't real, and why me?

The sleep wasn't a very pleasant one, I tossed and turned all over the concrete floor. My back was killing me all night long. I didn't quite notice until I woke up, but that cop had stayed at the station with me all night without leaving.

I lifted my head feeling the pop in my back once I raised myself. There he was, sleeping in that same chair.

He woke up shortly after I did with a kind and warm smile. "You're awake." He stretched.

I didn't reply. Instead I just looked around the room and sat there not wanting to overstay my welcome and end up being forced into one of those holding cells.

"We're uh…" He yawned all animated like Japanese people did. "We're gonna go get some breakfast. Then we'll drop you off at the airport. We already have a ticket and your luggage. I assumed you don't want to return to the dojo at the moment."

I nodded staring intensely at him. He knew I wasn't in the mood to talk. Maybe he really did understand how I felt.

"I'm not hungry though." I replied.

That wasn't the case though. A long night of thinking of all the possibilities got me paranoid. This was the Yakuza's playground. They owned this city. So if I went to any public place, chances are they would try to kill me.

The cop stood up. "Nonsense. You should get some good food before you have to deal with that horrible plane food."

It was because of this that I was given so much trouble upon coming home. The cop should have listened to me.

I learned on the drive that the officer was named Kugiwara. After he told me this I just took to calling him Kugi. He was strangely kind in the way he talked so easily about his past experiences. First about his original career aspects, which was to be an architect. Then he told me about his parents. It was his father who eventually convinced him to become a police officer.

The place we went into was very crowded. Instead of having someone at the counter there was just a bunch of vending machines full of packaged food. This is something America should invest in. The machines keep the food warm, and you only have to wait a few seconds.

I was bonding well with Kugi, but it was irresponsible. I had eventually let myself get too comfortable, and for the first time in hours I was smiling freely. He had succeeded in making me look at the optimistic side. Dad was dead. He was in a better place, no matter how cliché that sounds. It was true. I just wished that he didn't have to die to get the Yakuza to leave him alone.

"When it started." It was my first time talking about the incident since the previous night. "I arrived at his house early yesterday. They were there when I arrived."

Kugi nodded in silence.

"They demanded that my father repaid them. Probably for a loan." I sighed. "I told them not to come back. I know it's stupid to say, but I can't help but feel like this is my fault. If I hadn't said anything to them. They probably never would have come back."

Kugi shook his head. "No. You can't do this to your-"

"Think about it." I replied. "I threatened them, Mafia members. That's why they came back. Before I killed him, the last Yakuza. He told me his family would hunt me down and kill me."

"That's why we're sending you home." The officer replied. "We have been trying to catch them for years now, but they're just too well funded and too… invisible."

I took a sip out of the coffee I got then set it to the side and leaned in. "That's why we need to have ninjas again. We need cops that get the job done before the bastards know. Nowadays cops warn the criminals before they come."

"It's all to be fair you know." He replied then leaned back. "But you do have a point."

I took a bite out of the breakfast burrito I ordered. Just at that moment a man walked by and bumped out table. We made nothing of it at first, but we didn't notice him slip something into our drinks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The next thing we knew we were opening our eyes to utter darkness. Nothing but dark all around us and a very blurry white light in front of us. Once I opened my eyes all the way I began to see shrouded figured blocking the light then suddenly it was completely gone with the sound of a metallic slam.

I could hear Kugi grunting to my left. I turned my head and saw that we were both lying on the ground. It didn't take long for me to realize that our hands and feet were tied. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I looked around and saw a bunch of wooden crates and metal walls. We were in a warehouse.

"Ugh. Lex?" Kugi grunted. "Is that you?"

I tilted my head back to look at the police officer who was still in his uniform, but seemed to be beaten up a lot. Blood and bruises covered his face.

"Yeah." I mumbled, disgusted by the sour taste that was in my mouth.

"Where are we?" He replied.

"Warehouse." I replied. "I'm pretty sure at least."

I looked around wondering what else this could be. An dream maybe? Hopefully.

I looked up and now I could see people around me, though it was kind of hard to make out any details. All I could see was the light peach color of their skin, the rest was clad in black.

Kugi's vision began to come too and he noticed what I was looking at. He was not too fond of them at all. "Hey! What is this?!" he shouted at them. "Untie us right now!"

I didn't say anything at first. All I wanted to know was who they were. Suddenly I heard a loud click then I was blinded by an extremely bright light. It was a lamp for sure, since I could hear its annoying buzzing noise.

"This." One of them spoke in Japanese of course. "Is simply cleaning up."

The person stepped into the light and revealed himself to me. A rather scrawny man wearing a black, silk shirt with gold dragons on the sleeves. His hair was straight, but shaggy and went over his eyes.

The man leaned in over me and peered at my face. My heart thumped with fear of what was happening. I had not yet taken the situation in.

"My name is Tagashi." He replied. "And whether you know it or not. You've hurt me."

I swallowed the aged coffee aftertaste. "I kinda want to hurt you some more."

Tagashi shook his head and sighed. "So this is how you really act." He stood up then heaved his boot into my rib. "Like a punk ass Gaigin!"  
The kick didn't feel good at first, but it wasn't enough to break my spirit. "Hey! You better untie this rope before I bust out and hang you with it!"

I knew who these guys were, it was so simple. They were with the Yakuza of course. The weird thing was that I didn't remember how I got caught by these guys. The last thing I could recall was eating breakfast. Judging by the after taste that still lingered in my mouth, it wasn't very long ago.

"You heard the kid! Untie us this instant!" Kugi screamed. "Let us go! Now!"

Tagashi laughed at our rage. "Wow. And to think that twenty minutes ago. You two were singing and dancing around. Talking about how much fun you were having and didn't want to go home." He sighed again. "Guess it was just the drugs."

That was it. It wasn't too hard to assume that we had been drugged. The only other explanation was that this was really a dream. Whoever did it sure had quick hands.

"Shut it!" I jerked my arms outward trying to break the rope, but it was no use. This may have been Japan, but they used American quality hardware.  
"I'm a cop you trash!" Kugi shouted. "Do you realize what you're doing. I've seen your faces, your life is over!"

This didn't sit well with Tagashi. Like any other criminal talk like this struck a nerve causing him to jump over to the cop and kick him in the side. There were five other guys there and they joined in. Three guys started beating Kugi, and before I knew it the other three were on me.

The punched and kicked me in the face and ribs. I wiggled around to try to defend myself, but all I could do was twist into the fetal position and take the horrible pain. Damn them for wearing combat boots.

By the time they backed off the back of my head pulsed with unbearable pain as did my ribs. Tagashi pulled the rest of his men off me and as soon as he did I spat out the blood in my mouth onto the closest foot I saw. This earned me a clean boot to the face, busting my lip open.

"You bastards! Leave that boy alone now!" Kugi shouted.

Once again the thugs jumped on Kugi, but this time all six of them kicking and punching at every inch of his body they could reach.

I sat up, my heart beating fast as possible. These guys were going to kill us for sure, but there must have been something we could to. I began looking around for a solution.

I quickly analyzed the surroundings. The place was an old military warehouse. Judging by the open crates with Type-ninety-nines sticking out. I looked around some more, and sitting on the ground a few feet behind me was a small crate of bayonets. They were cutting tools, which meant I could free myself with them.

Sadly Tagashi quickly had his fill of violence and backed his men off once again. I had just lost my only possible window to break free, I had to make another one somehow. Maybe it was too late.

"Now." He sighed catching his breath. "Back to the kid."

He leaned in over me, furrowing his eyebrows and staring into my eyes.

"You shouldn't brag about killing our friends." He suddenly said. "My men heard you at the diner bragging about your victory." He stood up. "We were told about the incident at your dojo, and ordered to finish the job that could never be finished." He leaned in on me again sneering with hatred. I returned the favor with as defiant a look as I could give. "You killed our family. And as luck would have it. Here you are."

I spat more blood from my mouth into his face, which if you've seen enough movies, never ends well. He wiped the blood off and looked at it biting his lower lip then he heaved his arm around into my face. His heavy hand threw me onto the concrete adding to the pulsating pain in my head.

"I would love to kill you right here and now." He spoke through his teeth then turned away. "But the boss wants you for himself. Trust me, by the time he gets here you're gonna wish I had done away with you."

I glared up at him again, swallowing blood the more I waited. Tagashi and I stared each other down for a long time before he finally waved his men away. "Rest while you can, little American punk."

I struggled to slow down, my breathing then looked back at Kugi. I scooted over to him so I could whisper and he would hear me. He caught on as soon as I leaned in.

"Okay. I got an idea." I whispered keeping my head straight so it didn't look like we were plotting.

"What?" He leaned in.

"Look forward and listen." I replied and glanced over at the bayonets again. "See that box? It has bayonets in it. I could cut myself free if I could get over there without them noticing."

The cop looked over at the box then sat back again. "What do you suggest?"

I chuckled lightly at my plan. "It's not your lucky day, officer. I need you to threaten them again with your police talk. Get them to beat you up again so I can get to the box."

Kugi hung his head and sighed. "Great. You sure this'll work?"

"Yes." I looked over at the thugs who were all gathered around deep in their own conversation. "Once I get free I'll have to kill them. It's the only way."

He nodded with approval. "Unfortunately."

"Wait for me to scoot back to my spot." I began scooting back to where I was. "Get them closer to me so I don't get shot at from far away."

I got back to where I was sitting before then looked at the men once more. They weren't provoked yet, which was good. Now this plan had to work, and the hard parts were luring them over and not getting killed myself.

I nodded at Kugi who nodded back, taking a deep breath. He popped his neck then I heard him mumble something to himself.

"Hey!" he shouted across the warehouse getting their attention. "This is your last chance! Free us or die!"

All six of them began walking this way, but Kugi kept on talking.

"Killing a cop is a serious crime!" He shouted. "If you kill me I can have you brought to America and put in the electric chair. You'll be given a death sentence! Then what? Your life is meaningless!"

Tagashi jumped at the cop once again, stomping into Kugi's ribs making him yelp with pain. It was a cruel sight to see, watching him get beaten and knowing that I was the cause of it. It was all part of the plan though, so it was sort of okay.

I watched them carefully with their backs turned as I scooted backwards toward the little box. My heart thumped as I steadily grew more nervous, expecting one of them to spin around and start beating the crap out of me too.

Luckily they were too focused on Kugi as he tried his best to guard his face, still shouting threats at them. "The Yakuza is nothing! You're washed up!"

They intensified their beating as I finally reached the box. I glanced back and reached inside trying to pick them up as carefully as possible so I didn't make too much noise. I looked back at the gangsters who were still having the time of their lives on Kugi.

My thumb rubbed against the edge of one of the gleaming silver blades. They were definitely sharp enough, and even broke skin which by now didn't hurt as much. I flipped the knife around and kept my eye on the thugs as I sawed at the rope until it finally came free, feeling like a piece of heaven since it was so tight before. I then quickly cut my feet bindings and got to my feet.

One of the thugs weren't as involved as the others and stood back from the rest of the group waiting for his chance to join in. He would be my first victim, and since these guys were with a mafia, he most definitely had a gun on his person. Taking his weapon would be much faster than loading one of the world war two rifles.

My second killing, was a mere seconds away. My heart started thumping again as I anticipated it. I hesitated over and over again on whether I should fight the men and risk being killed or if I should escape while I had the chance and leave Kugi.

From what I saw from movies running without slowing the enemies down usually involved a long and painful chase where the victim usually got recaptured or killed. Besides, Kugi was my friend. He was a police officer who rather than accusing me of being the bad guy, he recognized that I was only defending myself and the kids at the dojo.

I slowly approached the unaware Yakuza, my hand increasingly getting sweaty. I was still hesitating, I told myself to stop. I couldn't afford to waste any more time, so I dove right into the battle. It all happened so fast, it was like my body had a mind of its own.

The bayonet slid right into the thug's spinal cord, I covered his mouth as he had a bit of a spasm then went limp. Then I reached into the man's belt line and stole his pistol just as the other men noticed what had happened. The next things I saw were three heads and a stomach.

It seemed like the boom came after I had shot all of them. As usual it nearly made me deaf in the ear, and all I could hear now was ringing inside the huge metal building. I didn't move for a couple seconds and just stared at the now empty space which was half filled with the smoke from my barrel.

Then once it had sunk in that I had just shot our kidnappers I allowed myself to look around. I still wasn't even ready, but my hands seemed to move on their own for me. It didn't really matter how I killed them, I just wanted them gone.

I looked down at Kugi who coughed up blood from his mouth and panted with pain. He opened his mouth. "You… Got them."

I nodded as I took in his pulped up face. His left eye was closed around purple skin, blood ran down his face from his mouth and nose, and a large gash ran across his cheek. "We need to get you some help."

I tucked the pistol into my belt line then lifted him from the floor, tucking his own pistol back into his holster just in case. All I really wanted right now was to get on a plane and get home, but Kugi couldn't even walk. I needed to get my friend medical attention.

I threw his arm over my shoulder and started walking him toward the door. Then suddenly a voice filled my ears.

"You think you've won?" It was Tagashi threatening me once again.

This man, no, all of these men were really testing my patience. They demanded money from my father, then killed him, then kidnapped me. Now the Yakuza were once again to throw threats at me. I gritted my teeth swearing in all languages I knew, in my head. Who did these guys think they were?

I spun around as fast as I could bearing my teeth and furrowing my brow hard. "Listen you!" I screamed. "I'm letting you live so you can spread the message. Leave me alone, or I swear I will hunt down and kill every last one of your stupid family!"

"Calm down, Lex!" Kugi managed out.

I glared at the cop on my shoulder wanting to hit him for saying my name around this man. I should have killed the last witness, but I was more worried about getting Kugi to safety.

We stepped out of the warehouse into the blinding daylight. The sun was high in the sky beating hot down on my neck. I choked up on Kugi's arm and started walking, quickly feeling him go limp and fall asleep. After that I had to carry his entire weight, which proved much more of a challenge than it would have if I hadn't been beaten so badly. Even I started feeling woozy, like I was about to collapse.

I knew I wouldn't make it to the hospital in my condition, so I made a split second decision, as I spotted a pottery shop. The owner should have something to the effect of first aid, plus we would be allowed to rest for a while, since the Yakuza would never think to look there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

I barged into the pottery shop like a burglar would, so it made sense that the young woman working the counter shrieked with fear as I ran in. Luckily there weren't any customers there to call the police on me out of fear.

"I need some help!" I announced throughout the store. "Please. Someone help me!"

The woman peeked over the counter and saw me lugging Kugi around on my shoulder. When a person saw something like this, it was usually a sign to them that I was trustworthy. She came out from behind the counter and ran to my side.

"What happened?" She asked me worriedly.

"He's been beaten badly." I replied carrying him toward the counter. "Can you give first aid?"

The woman nodded helping me carry the police officer into a room behind the counter. We came into a lower landing with the stairs on one side and a door on the other. A brightly lit window was at the very end of the room.

"Take him upstairs and into the bedroom." She pointed up the stairs as she opened the door. "I'll be up in a minute."

I limped my way up the stairs as my knees increasingly shook. The dark stairwell began to spin around me and my balance began to lose its quality. I found myself crawling on my hands and knees while dragging Kugi along with me.

Once I reached the top I rolled around to my back, blinking rapidly and trying to get my vision better. Despite my poor vision and balance, I stood up and started dragging Kugi into the room which was only a few feet away.

I noticed it was a pretty nice bedroom once I lied Kugi down on the white blankets which became stained with his blood. I would have to apologize later.

The woman came back into the room with a completely huge suit case sized first aid kit. I was surprised this woman owned such a thing and that such a thing existed.

"Okay." She panted unpacking the kit and revealing all of the tools within. The first thing she grabbed was a bottle of peroxide and a few tissues. This girl sure was prepared.

"That's very large." I said with all awkwardness as my eyes bugged at the sight of the giant box.

She gave a crooked grin without taking her eyes off Kugi as she cleaned the cut on his cheek. "A girl needs to be prepared, you know."

"I guess." I rolled my eyes and looked at my sleeping friend.

"So tell me what happened." She said. "Since we're going to be here a while."

I shrugged no longer caring about who knew the truth or what they would think. "I killed a few Yakuza guys. The rest wanted revenge and kidnapped us. They beat me and him then we escaped."

She cocked her head and held the tissues in place, her jaw hung open. "You did what?"

"I know. I know." I rolled my eyes sighing. "They killed my dad, so they deserve for me to return the favor."

"You shouldn't mess with these people." She whispered worriedly as she continued to clean Kugi's wound. "They're dangerous people."

I rolled my eyes, gritting my teeth. "I don't care. I just want to go home now. Those guys think they're all big and bad, but they're just a mortal as I am."

She shook her head as she reached back into the bag and pulled out a sewing kit. I watched her as she lit a candle at her side and sterilized it easily. As she sewed up Kugi's wound she would occasionally glance over at me, but I didn't have any cuts. I only had a busted lip and a few bruises.

"I'm Misaki." She suddenly spoke without looking.

I peered at her, no longer in the mood to be all friendly with people after what I had just been through. I simply looked away at the floor without a word.

Misaki was persistent though. Her tone became more demanding. "You know in this country it's rude not to introduce yourself."

I bit down on my lip, tasting the salty blood that came out. "I know." I said through my teeth. "You know. I'm a little paranoid right now, so don't expect any friendliness from me."

"Okay then." At that she threw the needle down, even leaving it inside Kugi's face. She stood up with her hands on her hips. "I guess I'm done here then."

She hit my weak point. "Wait. You can't just leave him like that."

She pointed her finger at me now, for some reason in a more demanding tone. "You can either be nice, or I can call the police and report you both for murder."

My jaw hung open with how ridiculous this girl was being, but eventually I broke with a long sigh. "Fine…" I replied with a glare. "I'm Lex. And that's officer Kugi."

I made sure to put in the officer part, since I still assumed that everyone on the planet was allied with that same Yakuza family that was hunting me.

Misaki plopped back down and continued her work on Kugi. "Good." After a while she finished her work on Kugi and bandaged up his lip, rubbing a muscle relaxant around his bruised eye, then she took off his shirt and applied it to his body.

"I originally wanted to be a doctor." She said breaking the silence. "Then I met my husband and we bought this place. He's a doctor though… somehow."

She finished her work on Kugi then turned to me, handing me a wet towel to clean my lip with.

"Take off your shirt." She said in a weird tone that sounded almost seductive.

I didn't notice it and removed my shirt. When I said I practiced Jujitsu with my dad, obviously it meant that I was in great shape. Which I was. Several years of training gave me a perfect six pack and well-toned pecks, along with a greater tolerance for pain.

Apparently this is what set that woman off, because as soon as I took off my shirt her eyes lit up like stars. A wide smile spread across her face and she began biting her lip. It was kind of weird for me, but I kind of liked it.

"Do you work out?" She asked with the same weird tone.

Her tone had completely reversed in less than a second, which was scary. "I do Jujitsu." I replied quickly.

She nodded rubbing the cream all over my chest which went from hot to cold with a sort of minty smell. "Oh. So that's why you have such a nice body."

This made me almost jump. "Excuse me?"

She was acting strange now, and for some reason went from being bossy and demanding to seductive and almost like a high school girl.

"Listen." She finally finished. "Since I help you, I think you owe me a bit of a favor as well."

I scooted away shaking my head. "No. I have to go."

As soon as I stood up I went dizzy again and fell back down. Misaki giggled lightly and lied down next to me rubbing her index finger along my chest. "You're in no condition to go anywhere. So listen. My husband… He's not a nice person. Understand? He hits me, and he kicks me. And he never sleeps with me anymore."

I glared at the woman having sort of an idea of where she was going with this, but maybe she was just telling another story.

"Obviously you're strong and skilled." She giggled again. "You did kill the Yakuza after all. So I thought you could accomplish this easily."

I furrowed my brow and shook my head. "Whatever you're thinking, I won't do it."

She stuck her lip out playfully. "Oh. But it weighs heavily in your favor. I just want you to bust a cap in that bastard." She giggled again now hugging herself playfully. "And maybe while we wait for him, we could have a little fun."

This girl was out of her mind! She wanted me to kill her husband and satisfy her urges. I wasn't going to have anything to do with this. All I wanted to do was go home. Was that so much to ask?

"Forget it." I replied getting out of her bed again. "I'll crawl to the airport."

Suddenly her hands came around my chest and she threw me off balance back onto the bed. She sat on my chest with a crazy smile spread across her face as I struggled to get free, but I was exhausted.

"Oh come on." She moaned. "You're a teenager, probably still a virgin. I promise to lend you my car when it's all over. Please?" She was seriously begging. "Either that or I can turn in a couple of murderers who can't run away."

I looked over at Kugi, who was still unconscious. He was a police officer in a corrupt city, so there was a possibility that he could get arrested for such a thing. A car did sound nice, since Kugi's squad car was probably still at the diner.

This woman was crazy, so I didn't want anything to do with her, but she was offering and threatening. It was no use, she had trapped me. I didn't want to agree to her offer, but I also didn't want to get arrested.

I clenched my fist tightly cursing at myself as I said it. "Fine."

The woman jumped up clapping and shrieking with joy as she pulled Kugi out of the bed and carried him back downstairs. It wasn't long before she returned and slammed the door shut. After that she threw herself onto me. I won't get into the details since this isn't a letter to Penthouse.

After about an hour of such activity we lied next to each other in her blood soaked bed. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. It was awesome, but I was ashamed for liking it. She threatened to turn me in for murder after all, and nice cops like Kugi are very rare.

I looked over at her then rolled my eyes and picked myself up from the bed. Misaki smiled sensually at me as I got myself a cup of water. My angry scowl had returned and I just eyeballed her from across the room thinking of any curse word I could think to yell at her.

Who was I kidding, I had the time of my life, but I didn't want to kill anymore. I didn't want anything to do with her relationship issues, or her husband. Who knew if she was telling the truth, she wasn't exactly alright in the head.

I spent the rest of the day downstairs with Kugi in the china shop. He had woken up long ago, probably to the strange noises.

"Where have you been?" He shouted as I reached the bottom.

I didn't want to tell him about it, he wouldn't be too fond of the idea. "Talking with our host, Misaki. She's offered to let us rest here for the night."

Kugi was surprised as he should have been. I should have been gone hours ago. "That sure was nice of her." He sat back sighing in relief.

"Listen." I spoke up. "The Yakuza knows who we are now. They'll be looking for us. So I need to get to the airport and go home as quick as I can."

Kugi nodded. "That's a good plan. I'll go thank our host for her courtesy."

I wanted to stop Kugi from going. A million thoughts crossed my mind as to what would happen. I didn't want him to find out that I planned to kill her husband, and if he talked to her she might blow my cover.

I had a bad taste in my mouth from the whole thing. My heart thumped a thousand miles an hour as I waited for him to get back, and thankfully he came back quickly without so much as a hint of worry.

Misaki served dinner to us early after she closed for the night. She told us that she always ate at six o'clock, but I knew it was just to get everything out of the way before her husband got home.

"You're going to need your strength." She whispered to me.

Like hell I would. I may have been kidnapped, but I was drugged. My ego took over my mind when she thought I was weaker than some doctor. I was a Jujitsu black belt, I wouldn't be beaten by some medical stiff.

Kugi and I would sleep in the bathroom for the night since she had no place else to sleep. Kugi ignorantly thanked her, but I knew she only wanted her husband to get up to their room so the killing would be discrete, and silent.

Around ten o'clock I heard the bell on the door ding then slam hard. This was the husband I had heard so much about. When I peeked through the door into the dark shop I saw him stumbling toward the stairs, he was drunk out of his mind. Several times, had I seen him nearly fall before he finally reached the stairs.

Kugi was already asleep which came as a relief to me, so I left him alone in the nice, quiet bathroom and followed the husband from a distance. I crept silently behind him, without being caught until finally he reached the top and stormed into the room beyond.

I pressed my ear to the door and listened in only to hear his low grumbling voice. "Where's my dinner?"

"It's not made." She replied only to be followed by the heavy packing sound of his hand.

Before I knew it I had opened the door and went inside to face him. I was ready to get it over with, but once he looked at me I reached for my pistol, but for some reason it was gone.

"Hey! Who are you?! Are you screwing around, woman?!" He shouted only to get no reply from Misaki. He hit her again then turned back to me. "Get out of my house, now!"

I didn't answer him. I never did like woman beaters, and now that one was right in front of me my anger and hatred only grew. Only this time, I had the power to kill him.

"Just stop!" She shoved him back. "It's over! You're horrible! Your days of abuse are over!"

He slapped her once again, knocking her back over their bed. I shuffled my right foot in front of my left, getting ready to attack. Around the room I looked for any item I could use as a weapon and lucky enough her bedroom was also her kitchen. A set of kitchen knives were in plain view on the counter.

She whimpered from the floor, tears flowing from the corners of her eyes. "Aguri." She whimpered. "Just die!"

"I said shut up!" He turned to march at her, but my hand had stopped him before he could do anything.

His face animated with rage and his eyes went huge. The next thing I knew his fist was up and flying at my face. It was far too slow for me though. Just as I thought, this doctor was no fighter.

I caught his hand and twisted it, making sure to do it the wrong way. The wrong way of using this pressure hold was to twist it to where it broke. This is strictly a defensive technique, but I knew how to break it easily.

So called, Aguri, screamed as he stumbled back, clutching his wrist. In any other situation I would have told him to give up, but my only goal was to end his life.

I heaved my foot at his chest, knocking him back into the bed. Aguri jumped up from it throwing his good hand wildly at me several times before I caught that one too and threw him over my shoulder at the kitchen island behind me.

I heard his head hit the floor hard, which probably served to cause a concussion. Misaki hadn't moved yet and even had a wide smile across her face. The insane woman was cheering me on as I continuously killed her husband.

My mind was still in a predator mode as I stepped on his chest and circled the island to the counter. Right now I wasn't thinking about what I was doing, I was only thinking about my life and ending his.

The doctor stumbled to get up and ran around to swing at me again, but in a second his fist missed my head and I had stabbed the biggest knife I could find through his neck. Now I realized what I had done.

I may have done what I had planned to do, but the fact that I did her bidding because she threatened me just made me even more furious with her and myself.

Aguri fell to the floor with a slam as blood flowed out of his neck and he twitched with his last breaths. Now he was dead, because of my hands.

I dropped the knife and rubbed my face with my clean hands. The fact that my hands were still clean told me that not only had I gotten more precise, but I had achieved instincts with killing a man. I was starting to become a skilled killer, which was not what I wanted with my life.

"You did it." She said in a shaky voice. Once I looked up at her I saw not a face of shock, but a wide eyed smile from ear to ear. "You did it! Oh my god! I love you!"

She hugged me tightly as I stood up, but I wanted nothing to do with this loony toon. She really was out of her mind.

"I have to go." I mumbled holding out my hand. "The Yakuza still wants me dead. I have to get home."

She simply stared at my hand for a few seconds before she backed away and started laughing. Just then Kugi busted through the door panting and rushing to my side.

"Lex." He panted. "What's happened? I…" He looked to the floor and saw the fresh corpse to my right. "Lex."

I couldn't look him in the eye, I was so ashamed. Not because I killed again, but because I did what this woman wanted.

"You two are like a blessing into my life." She laughed.

"Just give me the keys so I can go." I shouted back, stomping my foot on the floor.

Kugi glared at her as she gasped playfully. "You don't like me anymore?"

"I never liked you. You belong in an asylum."

Now she was furious with me. Her eyebrows scrunched together and her lips quivered together. Her fists clenched as she backed up and sat on her bed with her legs crossed.

"You have finally killed that no good bastard." She replied. "You gave me the sex of my life, and you're both so nice to me." Her hands slipped down behind the bed.

I turned around and grabbed Kugi's wrist, walking toward the door. "I've had enough of this. Let's go."

A boom filled my ear drums and a chunk of the door suddenly exploded in front of me. Kugi and I spun around only to see Misaki holding both of our guns pointed at us.

"Like this?" She asked us in another playful tone. "I stole it from you two at dinner. Well actually, Lex, I stole yours after our little fun fest."

The cop and I both held up our hands. Both of us scared out of our minds, but also filled with rage.

"Hey!" Kugi shouted. "That's police property! You had better put that down before-"

"Before what?" She laughed. "As I see it. You two are at the disadvantage, because you're unarmed. And I have two guns."

I gritted my teeth, while I held my arms up lazily. "What the hell do you want from us, huh?! I killed your husband! I had sex with you! Just let us go!"

She laughed again hugging her stomach as she did. "Hahaha! Oh you sure did, big boy, but you did such a good job that I want you to stay."

Kugi and I replied simultaneously. "Forget it."

"Oh you will stay with me." She replied. "You'll learn to love me like I love you. I hope that one day we get married, but for now get back in your bathroom."

Kugi and I shared a look as I tried to think up a plan, but for now I stalled. "What about the corpse on your floor?"

"I've disposed of bodies before. Don't you worry."

I sighed as I looked around the room. There were no weapons near us, but a katana was displayed above her bed which would have been better against Aguri. Our only hope was to do what she said and think of a plan. If we tried to run, she would surely kill us, or injure us. It was better to not get hurt at all.

"Fine." I scowled at her.

She waved us to the door, still aiming at us both. "I'll walk you to your new room."

We both turned around and opened the door. Kugi glared at me with obvious questions.

"Just do what she says." I mumbled to him.

He didn't reply, because he was either so angry with me or just plain disappointed.

Misaki escorted us downstairs into the bathroom then slammed the door after giving me a full open mouth kiss.

I walked over to the sink drinking straight from the tap trying to wash away the taste of crazy from my mouth. Kugi just stood behind me with his hands at his hips.

"You have some explaining to do." He glowered. "Do you realize what you've done?!"

"I had no choice." I replied glaring at his reflection in the mirror. "The Yakuza have a hit out on us. She threatened to turn us in to them if I didn't agree."

"What?!" He shouted before hopelessly sliding down the door. "Damn it."

I sat down against the counter and sighed, calming myself. "I didn't want to, believe me."

"And the sex?" He replied with a smirk. "Come on. Don't lie to me."

I chuckled with recognition of my immature teenage mind. "Hey, I can't lie about something like that."

He chuckled along with me and shook his head. "So what are we going to do?"

I shook my head. "I'm not sure yet. I'm still thinking. We can't but the door, she'd shoot us before we got very far."

Kugi nodded in agreement.

There was only once option that wouldn't end in us dying. "I can only think of one thing."

"What is it?" I gave him a serious look and he quickly caught on. "Oh no. We can't do that."

"There aren't any other options." I replied with a heavy sigh. I know it sucks, but it's the only way."

The officer shook his head with a heavy sigh then looked at the light above us. "This is so wrong." He sighed again. "Alright. When will we do this?"

I was surprised by how easy he agreed to it, but maybe he was just hiding it like I was. He may have been a cop, but even a cop doesn't kill that much. I on the other hand had just started, and what was scarier than that. I had become more comfortable with it.

"We'll do it tomorrow." I replied. "We'll tell her we've learned our lesson and offer her a three way. It seemed this psycho chick is a lover of sex. We'll use that to get close to her. Then we'll use that Katana above her bed to do away with her quietly so we don't get the cops called on us."

Kugi bobbed his head looking impressed. "I'm already overstepping my boundaries as a cop. After all this, I might lose my job."

I nodded with a sigh. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head and closed his eyes. "It's all for the sake of survival." Then he turned off the light.

The next day we spent bored out of our minds with nothing to do. Misaki was surprisingly kind enough to feed us throughout the day until it was time for her to go to bed.

"Good night boys!" She taunted in a seductive tone.

Kugi looked at me and I nodded. "Misaki wait!"

"Yes?" her voice was cheerful.

"We've learned our lesson." Kugi shouted back.

"I love you!" I then shouted.

I heard the lock which was on the outside of the door unlock and then the door swung open. Misaki was in a tank top and pajama bottoms holding our pistols. "What did you say?"

I stood up and approached her slowly. "I said I love you." I wrapped my arms around her waist.

Kugi stood up as well trying to sell his bit. "We really and truly love you.

Misaki and Kugi shared a long kiss before she turned to me and I did the same. She raised an eyebrow with a wide grin. She got our idea and grabbed our hand, pulling us upstairs.

Kugi and I looked at each other as she opened the door and smiled widely at us. We entered the room taking turns kissing her. I was keeping my eyes on the sword, not noticing that she was still keeping a close eye on me.

We eventually were lying on the bed and I was still noticeably distracted. It wasn't long before she caught on and pulled out the pistols.

"You stupid Gaigin!" She shouted, pulling out both of the pistols. "You can't trick me!"

Kugi dropped down on top of her pinning both of her arms down. "Lex! Get the sword!"

I was way ahead of him and stood up on the bed and grabbed the Katana. She gasped as I held the weapon above my head and looked down at her. She was still struggling so I was rushed into doing the deed as quickly as I could.

The katana came down, clean through her heart and she twitched just as Aguri did when the blood rushed out of him. Kugi quickly jumped up so he didn't get any blood on him.

I left the sword in her with disgust. The crazy lady was finally dead, and for the first time I was completely relieved that I had killed someone. Not a single thought of regret crossed my mind, just thoughts of hatred.

Kugi panted and looked up at me. "You cool?"

I nodded reaching into her jeans on the floor and pulling out her car keys. "Come on." I jingled them together. "Let's get out of here before we meet any more trouble."

Kugi nodded and stood up, picking up his pistol. "Amen."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Traffic was crazy on the way to the airport, even when we got there we were moving very slowly through traffic. Everything from the tiny cabs of Japan, to the pedestrian vehicles were blocking our way and waiting for their chance to get into the parking lot. By the time we left Misaki's pottery shop Kugi didn't look like a cop at all. He had taken off his uniform blouse and badge and was only in his white shirt. He removed his belt and untucked his shirt. I could easily tell he was exhausted from all this trouble.

"So are you sure you don't want to come with me?" I asked once again. "The Yakuza will be looking for you too. America is your ticket out."

Kugi gave a light grin as we turned in to the parking lot. "No, that's okay. I'll figure out a way to get them off my back. You're the one they want dead. You have to get out of here now."

He was right. I was the only one who had killed their men, Kugi was only present and watching. It was obvious that they would go after him for information, but mafia families could always be bought somehow. I just hoped we were right about that theory.

Kugi had become a great friend of mine in those past three days. We had fought together and saved each other's lives. I couldn't help but feel worried about how he would fend for himself, but I had to let him go his own way. Japan was his home, and he deserved to stay with his family.

I got out of the car and slammed the door shut as we started walking to our last meeting. Kugi looked a bit sad as well, but also determined to fix everything with the Yakuza and get me to safety. We were so close to our goal, but we didn't realize we were also so far.

Kugi stopped dead in his tracks looking at the crowd of people in front of us. When I saw the look on his face the only guess I could think of involved the Yakuza. I was right, too.

Standing in front of the doors to the airport were two guys dressed in black suits with their arms crossed. This was Japan, so they weren't secret service. It was too big of a coincidence for it not to be the Yakuza.

Kugi automatically turned around and pulled my arm with him as we walked back to the car.

"Is it them?" I asked making sure not to turn around and look.

"Of course it is." He replied. "They heard our plan. It makes sense that they would come here."

"That just confirms that they are still hunting me." I replied circling around to the car.

We got in and Kugi slammed his head on the steering wheel. "Damn it!"

I closed my eyes trying to think of what to do next. These guys were well armed and clearly thirsty for my blood. If I went to the police they wouldn't care, they had no jurisdiction. They would kill me at all costs.

Leaving the country was my only option, that much was obvious. Kugi would most likely start an investigation after all this was over. I had to worry about myself, not him. I had to get home if I wanted to live through this.

There had to be another way to get there. The airports were being watched constantly, so I had to find another way. What were the other ways to get to other countries?

Suddenly I had it. I would go to the docks and take a boat there. Kugi would agree to it, since boats were so stoic that no one would think to use it. With the chance that the Yakuza were guarding the ferries and ships, I would have to go by a smaller boat like a fishing boat.

"I got it." I suddenly mumbled getting his attention. "Start the car and get to the docks, now."

Kugi did so without question, the plan was obvious if we were going to the docks. After we got through the heavy traffic it was smooth sailing cross the town to the docks. The place was crowded with people buying fish from random stalls. Several ships were anchored across the water and sure enough there were Yakuza members watching that area.

I looked to the docks near the fish market and spotted several fishing boats. Everything was going according to plan, I just had to find someone who would take me all that way on their boat, which wouldn't be that hard if Kugi helped me.

"Okay." I turned around looking all around me for suspicious figures. "I'll need to ask one of the fishermen for a ride. Shouldn't be too hard. All I need to do is pay them off and they should be willing."

"Good plan." He replied delving into the swarm of people. "Try to look for someone without very many customers. They'll be more willing since they aren't busy."

I instantly spotted a rather lonely stall near the end of the dock with a rather ancient looking old man working it. I nudged Kugi and pointed down the dock. "There's our guy. Lets go talk to him."

We made an instant bee line to the old man's stall. The whole time I was getting jittery about finally getting out of this godforsaken place. I had grown to hate it after I got a glimpse at its criminals and the criminally insane, Misaki. Now I just wanted to go home to a place that was more distracted by the media than violence.

We stopped in front of his stall, his face instantly lighting up from his customers. Kugi and I, however, were merely pretending to browse through his selection.

"So." I broke the ice while keeping my eyes on the disgusting looking fish. "Looks like business is slow today."

He looked at the wooden dock with a remote looking smile on his face. "Yeah. It's a shame."

"So you wouldn't mind giving someone a ride across the sea?" I replied now looking right at him.

Kugi gave him a testing look, but the elder paid no attention to the out of uniform cop. His smile didn't drop either, he just gave a very hospitable smile on his face.

"A ride?" He replied. "Why ever would you need that?"

I shrugged my shoulder, not wanting to tell him about my situation and test his greed. "No reason. The airport's a bit too expensive for my pockets. But I am willing to give you what I have for a ride."

"Nonsense, child." He replied walking around his stall. "What was your name again?"

I boldly replied without thinking, "I'm Lex." We shook hands, but meanwhile Kugi gave me a horrified look at what I just revealed.

"You can call me Akira." He replied motioning me to his boat. "Lets not waste any time now, we can set sail immediately."

I turned around to Kugi as Akira boarded his vessel waiting for me. "Lex. Don't do this. This guy is shady."

I shook my head in haste of getting home. "No way. I'm getting home."

"Then I'm coming with you." He replied, but I stopped him.

"No. I'll be fine." I replied giving him an assuring look.

I had completely ignored Kugi's advice because I was so excited about getting home. Once we had set sail I took one last look at my police friend who stressfully paced on the docks then gave one final wave as our last goodbye.

I was finally going home after all this time and all this trouble. No more would I have to be scared out of my wits from being hunted by Yakuza members. No more would I have to constantly be making up plans of escape. No more would I have to sleep with one eye open.

Akira was nice enough to even serve me dinner that night after dropping anchor in the middle of the water. He was a fantastic cook for someone with such nasty looking fish. Turns out he kept the good fish on his boat for his trips.

It was amazing food. He served grilled salmon and egg crepes filled with marinated tofu salad.

Even Ayame never made food this exquisite. She usually made noodles, something with rice, or something normally made in America.

"Mm." I laughed as I munched on my crepes as we sat floating in the moonlit night on the still water. "This is fantastic."

Akira pulled a chunk of salmon out of his thick beard and smiled at me. "It is isn't it? I've never really had much company to tell me how it tasted."

I couldn't help but gasp at these words, since I was still a bit shocked that someone like Misaki existed. My mind had since been opened to what kind of people were in this world.

"Is something wrong?" Akira gave me a worried look.

I didn't want to worry Akira, and for some reason I felt comfortable around this man, which was incredibly foolish. "I've just had an eventful few days."

"Tell me." The elder sat back against the side of the boat sipping on the tea he had brewed.

I sighed no longer hurting from what happened to my father. "These Yakuza guys… They killed my father. Tried to kill me, but I killed them before they could. Then they found me and kidnapped me and that cop I was with. After escaping from those guys we took shelter in this pottery shop owned by this woman, Misaki. Turns out she was out of her mind. She had me kill her husband and have sex with her or she would turn me in to the Yakuza."

Akira nodded looking surprised. "That's horrible. But you know, those types of people exist in this world. You gotta be careful."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

After spilling the entire story to the complete stranger I went to sleep out on the deck, belly full and cozy for once in three days. Akira had told me a story about when he was a young man and he adventured around China learning from monks in the art of Kung Fu.

The morning after I found this story out to be complete truth, as I woke up and saw an island slowly approaching in the distance. Although it was far too small to be California, and had only one building on it which was a huge mansion. Behind it was another noticeably bigger island.

"Akira." I got up rubbing my eyes as the ships captain steered us only closer to it. "What's wrong? We can't be there yet."

The white haired old man didn't say a word for a few seconds, which made my heart rate rise again with fear. Was he playing an angle the whole time?

I nudged his shoulder to get his attention wondering if I was just having a bad dream. "Hey! Hey old man! What's going on?!"

Akira looked over his shoulder with a fierce glare in his eyes which served as enough of a warning to me as I needed. I took one step forward and grabbed his shirt, but after that I could only feel the suffocating sensation of his foot meeting my stomach.

I fell backwards onto the deck gasping for my breath, then I hopped to my feet as I regained my ability to breathe. Akira had already jumped down from the helm ready to fight as was I.

I circled him remembering his story of Kung Fu, now a bit more cautious. I awaited his attack to try and get him with a counter attack, but he was not doing such things. He threw his hand at me in a snake style jab, then as I threw up my arm to block his foot came up quicker than I could see and went into my stomach again, though I clenched my stomach before the wind could get knocked out again. That doesn't mean it didn't hurt like crazy. I was beginning to see the extent of this man's combat abilities.

I stumbled back, nearly falling into the water below, then I jumped to the side to avoid one of his kicks. I now had an opening and grabbed onto his rear arm. I easily pulled him into an arm bar, a little too easily.

In fact he let me do this as he flipped over his own arm and kicked off the edge of the boat sending me to the deck. He quickly jumped up and I rose to attack again, but he quickly spun around and got in a clean shot on my.

It wasn't a long time that I was knocked out, but by the time I came to the island was incredibly close and my hands were tied.

Akira was back at the helm, and I automatically knew that my theory about him was correct. I mentally apologized to Kugi for not listening to his suspicion.

This old man really was too good to be true, and I was caught. I picked myself up and sat down on the rear edge of the boat.

"Awake already?" He replied from the helm. "You believe my story now, don't you?"

I wasn't defeated yet. Right about now I was coming up with a plan to escape.

"You're Yakuza." I replied looking around the deck for possible ideas. I noticed an ammunition crate had been brought out to the deck probably for a shipment. Inside I could see explosive charges and lots of pistols. On the starboard side across the boat was a harpoon which I could use to cut my rope. Then suddenly I looked into the water behind me and saw the boat's rudder.

Now a second plan came into my head. Jump overboard and cut myself free with the rudder. This would lure Akira to the water so I could pull him in and drown him. It wasn't for revenge, but more like a means to get my hands on this boat so I could go straight home.

"What was your first clue?" Akira looked back at me from the helm, but I simply smiled back at him. "You were dead the second you spoke to our men that way. Now your life belongs to the Tagekusha family."

"Tagekusha eh? Well I'll tell you what. You guys always give me tons of ways to escape." At those words I threw myself into the water, immediately having my hearing muffled.

I could feel the rudders coming dangerously close to my skin, but thankfully they didn't cut me. My bindings came free, which felt amazing compared to the tight tying job Akira did.

My breath was decreasing by the second, but I held myself under the water right beside the rudder. I could see the old man peeking into the water against the brightly lit sky.

"Hey!" Was all I could hear him yelling from up there.

I kept watching him waiting for him to lower his body. Which didn't take long and I shot out of the water, pulling him by his shirt collar into the ice cold salt water.

For a Kung Fu student, or probably a master, he couldn't put up much of a fight. I covered his mouth and pinched his nose shut with one hand and squeezed his throat with the other. This was not traditional choke hold taught in martial arts, but it was harder for Akira to try and get free.

With my legs wrapped around his body and my head getting lighter by the second, Akira finally went limp in my hands. I waited a few more seconds before kicking his body deeper into the water and swimming back to the surface, instantly feeling relief from the suffocation of being under water.

The boat had gotten farther away from me but I swam at my top speed back to it. Once again I had no regret or moral trouble with killing a person, which is scary now that I think about it. This just means I'm more comfortable with taking someone's life, it means I'm a killer.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

I would have sailed the boat all the way home, but it turns out that old fool only put in enough gas to get to his little island. So I was forced to stop at the island behind it, Okinawa.

Once I dropped anchor in its dock I couldn't help but think about that mansion. Why else would Akira bring me there unless that was where that Tagekusha's leader was? I now knew the name of the people hunting me down, but not the one who was leading them. I didn't quite care either.

These people had killed my father and others, and then tried so hard to kill me. Bitter hatred, which was all I felt for these people. I wanted it to be over with once and for all. They already chased me this far until I was a mere mile away from their base of operations.

Would they ever stop chasing me? Or would this be a game of cat and mouse until the end of time?

I thought to myself how incredible it would be if a bolt of lightning or even a nuke suddenly dropped down on the island, blowing the mansion and everyone inside to little tiny pieces. That, of course, was too good to be true.

There was only one way, now. One way to end this adventure. That was to kill every last on of them. Somehow I would have to accomplish that.

I got off the boat long ago as I thought about this. One thought crossed my mind which I chose to check out. Sure enough there it was the rumored United States Military base that sat on this island. Wonderful job, by the way, the military had a strong presence on this island and it was instead run by Tagekusha scum.

It was that place that gave me my most brilliant idea of my life if I do say so myself. The boat had a shipment of weapons and explosives on it. If I were to somehow get the soldiers to chase me to the island, they would get into a firefight with the Tagekusha family. That would be an easy way to get those guys killed, but I would have to figure out how to get off without being shot at by either side.

My mind drifted back in time to the massacre of my dojo. That big bald guy and his friend were sizing up the female students, asking which one would get them the best price. They had sex slaves of course.

I now had my plan fully thought out. First I made my way into town looking for a thug. I would use his body as a decoy and the military would assume he was a suicide bomber. I wasn't used to looking for the gangsters, so the only place I could think of was to go to a bar and find a drunken person.

I would have to hurry though, because there was a convoy of trucks down the road getting ready to drive off. So I made a quick stop to the boat to fetch a bomb and refuel, then I ran back into town until I got to the first crowded bar I saw.

I had to act quickly as possible, but it was so crowded it was hard to figure out which one served the Yakuza. I squeezed my way through the crowd keeping my eyes peeled but out of everyone else's eyes so they wouldn't strike up conversation.

Then finally there he was the lonely and rather skinny Yakuza member sitting at the bar. It was a shame that such a young little thug had to die, but I didn't mind anymore. I wanted to go home and I was willing to do whatever was necessary to get there.

I sat down on the stool beside him and put on a friendly grin at the bartender. "I'm Lex Nagashima. Fill me up my good man."

My name was all I needed now. Since the Tagekusha now had my name out like wanted posters. It worked too, since the man next to me couldn't keep his eyes off me.

"Sorry, kid. You're not allowed in this place." He replied with a rather stern look.

"That's fine." I got off the stool and made a quick exit from the bar.

As I expected, the man followed me out of the bar. Everything was going according to plan so far. I took a sudden left into the alley next to the bar. The man followed me acting like he was being sneaky.

Who did this guy think he was, with that smirk on his face? "You're not sneaky." I turned around walking toward him. "This was all planned."

Surprisingly, the man wasn't at all trying to intimidate me. Instead he pulled out his knife and held it in front of himself defensively, his knees shaking in fear.

"Just stay away from me." He whimpered holding it out like a child would. "I've been ordered to kill you on sight."

I didn't care what he said. I needed his body, whether or not he was still alive. I took another step forward, which caused him to slash at me in panic. I caught his wrist and twisted it, making him drop his weapon. He shouted in pain, but not for long as I gave him a heavy palm between the eyes, which I knew from experience took your eyesight away.

The man stumbled around, swatting in front of himself, trying to grab anything he could. I took another step forward then put him on his back and punched downward on his face. He went limp, but when I felt his pulse I was relieved to know that he was still alive.

The first step was complete, and I strapped the bomb in my possession into the inside of his jacket. Now all I had to do was wait for the convoy to pass the alley way which didn't take long. I let the first two vehicles pass then I picked up his body after the second. The third car then passed me which by that time I had ran across the street and threw the gangster into the back of it.

Step two was in play, perfectly. It didn't matter to me whether or not the truck got inside the base, I just needed it to blow up and I needed the gate guards to chase me to the boat then to the island.

The first truck got through the gate then the second. Then the guards began to search the third truck and went straight to the back of it. As expected they panicked and backed away from it, threatening to shoot the man if he didn't get out. From down the street I saw him come to and look right at me as I stood in the middle of the street.

I held up the detonator and the man pointed at me, helping my plan come into play. The guard went on alert, but just then I detonated the bomb strapped to him. Luckily the bomb only put them on their backs, and didn't kill them. I was getting better at restraining myself.

Now I had to run as fast as I could back to the boat, which was incredibly hard as I now had soldiers chasing me. Once I got to the docks I had already heard their tires screeching a few blocks away, following me closely.

I quickly unhooked the boat from the dock and turned over the engine. I looked back and the soldiers' trucks had now stopped and they began to get out to try and shoot. By that time I had already sped up the boat past all of the others and I was in open water.

I looked back again and the soldiers were now screaming at the civilians and shoving them to the side so they could use their boats. I suppose even they didn't have time to go back to base and get their own boats.

Suddenly a piece of the side of the boat burst in a small explosion, then another section did as well. The soldiers were shooting at me of course, but it wasn't much of an issue. As long as they didn't hit me, and I was safely protected by a metal wall behind me. I knew that wouldn't hold up for long so I sped up the boat toward the giant mansion.

Once I came close enough to the mansion, their bullets that didn't hit were instead hitting the mansion walls on the island which then alerted the residents. The plan was working perfectly, as the Tagekusha goons flooded out of the house and began returning fire at the soldiers.

Now all I had to do was sneak onto the island and somehow make myself look innocent to them and wait out the battle, which wouldn't take very long.

I drove the boat around the island as the soldiers stopped their boats and began firing at the Yakuza members who were dropping like flied, despite their huge numbers. I anchored the boat on the back of the island and hopped over the edge onto the grass.

I peeked my head over the slope and saw what looked like ten or twenty guys sprinting around the side of the house to fight with their "family" members.

Before long the back of the house was clear of enemies and clear for me to sprint to the house. Once I reached it I kept real low and peeked through the decorative glass door. Inside the gangsters had busted out their own windows and started shooting at the soldiers. Thought they were dropping quickly.

I opened the door and immediately looked around. To my left was the kitchen and the hallway I was in lead straight into welcoming area where two spiral staircases surrounded the front door. I walked along to the back of the room then looked left then right and saw an open room. It was dark and only had a bit of visible floor before it dropped down.

That was the staircase and I quickly made my way down to the basement. Right about now I could clearly hear shouts from both the Tagekusha and the Americans.

"They're reaching the shore!"

"Put your weapons down or we will shoot you!" The American soldiers had already made it into the house.

I looked around the dark room that I was in and what I saw was shocking. Not only were there women tied up, but old women. There were small children, both boys and girls. The Tagekusha had all manner of people locked in their basement. Judging by the bags on their head and their severe lack of clothes, they were sex slaves. Just like I predicted.

More shooting sounded from upstairs followed by loud thumping. I had to make a hasty decision, so I took off my shirt and pants and threw them to the side where the other people's clothes were piled up. Then I put a bag on my own head and sat down at the end, locking handcuffs around my own wrists.

The U.S. soldiers overwhelmed the Tagekusha very quickly. I wasn't focused on what would happen afterwards or the trouble the government would go through afterwards. All I know is once I heard the door slam open and the voices of America's bravest fill the room, I never felt more alive.

"United States Army, put your hands in the air!" They already were.

After they reached the bottom of the stairs all I could hear were curses from the soldiers. Everything was resolved quickly and I no one suspected me at all.

After they unlocked my shackles they took me in for questioning and I just told them my story. I told them that I was visiting my father in Tokyo and these men murdered him and kidnapped me along with a member of the Tokyo police force. When they checked the database and called the station, a little friend of mine confirmed my story and I couldn't help but smile with relief. I was finally going home.


	7. epilogue

**Epilogue**

When I got off the plane my mom was waiting for me on the runway, hugging her own chest with tears in her eyes. What I didn't expect was to see the strange man, with his arm around her waist. I had never seen him before and he looked a bit like you would expect the typical scruffy redneck to look. He had long hair and a nappy looking beard.

I got to the bottom of the jet and was instantly bombarded by camera flash and my mom throwing her arms around me.

"Lex! Lex!" The photographers were relentless with their questions, but I didn't answer any of them.

"Lex!" Mom shouted with relief. "Oh my god! My son!"

I didn't reply even though I was so happy to finally be home and safe. She got my silence, and the reason why.

"Oh my god, you must be so scared." She whimpered.

"Yeah. I would be too if I lived with his dumbass father." The strange man replied boldly.

That hit a nerve and I felt my fist clench, and I found myself thinking of all the ways I could disable this man.

"He was an idiot to leave and deserves what he got." This was what struck a nerve in me.

Who did this guy think he was? Bastard just spoke his mind without thinking about it.

"Hey who are you?!" I pointed in his face without care of what the photographers would think. "You shut the hell up about my father!"

The man wasn't intimidated. He didn't even laugh like the guys from Tagekusha would. He replied with an even more bad mouthed tone.

"You better watch yourself boy!" He shouted back, but mom stopped us.

"Boys stop!" She sighed rubbing her eyes stressfully. "Lex I didn't get a chance to tell you. This is Clark. I'm seeing him."

That much was obvious, I already hated this guy.

"Clark. This is my son Lex."

We sneered at each other then turned our backs to each other. Not a word was shared between anybody for the entire car ride. Clark folded his arms and mother just gave a weak stare at the road.

When we got home Clark was much worse. For the first few days back at home, I found Clark to be no better than the Yakuza. The thing that really set me off about him, was on the second night, when I heard them screaming at each other from the kitchen. I went downstairs and peeked through the door, only to see him slap her right at that moment.

Clark was abusive. That was why my mom didn't tear him apart for speaking to me that way. She was scared of him, which was obvious since mom would have normally dumped this guy very quickly.

That night I decided to do one last killing. Well, one last trick killing. I wanted to kill Clark with all my heart, so I came up with a plan and gathered the materials that night while they were asleep.

I walked into the south central region and picked me up a bit of bath salts. The next day I told Clark I wanted to get to know him and offered to take him to dinner. The greedy jerk obviously fell for it easily and that night we went for a walk to a restaurant in ghetto area of south central.

During dinner I slipped the drug into his drink and he drank it without much issue. The drugs along with the combination of alcohol altered his mind just as planned. When we left they finally began to take effect.

As we walked home Clark was slurring racial profanity so horrible that I dare not say them on paper. That was the plan, however, I knew very well how touchy the gang members of south central Los Angeles were.

As they heard his cursing I made my hasty exit across the street, but Clark just kept on walking and slurring his Nazi like threats.

Before I knew it the gangsters shot Clark numerous times. For the first times, I smiled at my work. Clark was a horrible person and he deserved what he got.

Now that I thought about this story, I now realize that I made all the wrong decisions. All of this could have been avoided if I held my tongue. Now I can't go back. Now I have the instincts of a killer, I'm a Predator, and prey.


End file.
